Quick fastening and/or connection system

ABSTRACT

A quick connection and/or fastening system suited to mutually connect and disconnect a first and a second element is disclosed, the system including a first and a second component that are suited to be rigidly fixed to the first and second elements, respectively, the first component and the second component being also suited to be mutually connected and disconnected, the second component being suited to house an end portion of the first component in such a way as to allow its translation inside the second component, the second component comprising also counteracting elements suited to counteract the translation of the end portion of the first component towards the outside of the second component.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/984,268 filed on May 18, 2018, which is a divisional of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/386,779, which is the US national phaseof PCT application no. PCT/IB2012/002011 filed on Oct. 10, 2012, whichclaims priority from Italian patent application no. VI2012A000071 filedon Mar. 28, 2012.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns the field of quick connection and/orfastening systems suited to alternatively allow the mutual fastening andseparation of two elements.

In particular, the present invention concerns the technical field ofquick connection and/or fastening systems suited to alternatively allowthe fastening and separation of two elements, like for example theupright or the bearing structure and a shelf of a shelving system, aswell as a frame (for example, of a piece of furniture) and a door panelof the same piece of furniture.

The present invention, thus, concerns in particular a quick connectionand/or fastening system suited to be used as a handle of doors and/orwindows (for homes, cars, camper vans and vehicles in general), and/oreven for doors of pieces of furniture for houses and not, like forexample shelving systems, chests of drawers, wardrobes and/or even forreplacing known fastening systems or means, like for example bolts andscrews or nuts, for example for fixing the wheels of a vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF THE ART

In the state of the art connection and/or coupling systems are known, bymeans of which two components are mutually fixed to each other. Examplesof connecting systems are known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,698 A e CH 600738 A5. For example, in the case of construction of shelving systemsand/or similar structures, systems are known, which allow the shelves tobe fastened to the bearing structure of the shelving system as well asto be removed from the same. The most common systems comprise smallmetal parts, for example screws and anchors, as well as elements inpredefined shapes and sizes suited to be fastened to the bearingstructure and to the various shelves through said screws and/or saidanchors. The assembly of a shelving system, for example, requires thatthe coupling or fastening elements that during the actual assembly willbe coupled (engaged) with the coupling and/or fastening elementspreviously fixed to the shelves are arranged in advance on the shelvingsystem.

If on the one hand the advantages offered by the most recent solutionscan be recognized, it should however be noted that said solutions arenot without drawbacks.

In particular, one of the typical drawbacks lies in that the actualanchorage elements must however be fixed in advance to the elements thatmust be mutually fastened to each other (for example, to the bearingstructure and to the various shelves of a shelving system), using screwsor similar means, and therefore in that it is not possible to reduce theoverall assembly time by more than a certain amount of time.

Furthermore, in the case of modern shelving systems there is a tendencyto avoid the use of screws or similar means due to their unpleasantappearance and due to the risk of damaging the component parts of ashelving system (for example, with scratches or similar types ofdamage).

Another examples of a connecting system is known from GB2297793 A. Moreparticularly GB2297793 provides a device with a lever which is connectedto a scoop to enable the scoop to be retracted against a spring and theball is no connected with scoop. It has to be noted that in themechanism of GB2297793 when the system is blocked, the ball is blockedbetween the ramp, the belt and the cover. So, when the lever connectedto the scoop retracts the spring the scoop detaches from the ball, theball remain blocked between the ramp and the belt. Furthermore in orderto obtain the desired release action the system needs to act on the beltmoving it down (FIG. 4).

Finally, the coupling systems of the known type, in particular theactual coupling means, do not offer the necessary guarantees and thenecessary reliability against any accidental disengagement oruncoupling, so that there is the risk that during use of the completedstructure (for example, while a book is being taken from a shelf) ashelf may be accidentally separated from the bearing structure, withserious risks for the user and consequent loss of stability of the samestructure.

Regarding, furthermore, the quick connection and/or fastening systemssuited to be used as a handle for door and/or window panels (for homes,cars, camper vans and vehicles in general), and/or for doors of piecesof furniture to be used in homes or even in other environments, like forexample shelving systems, chests of drawers, wardrobes etc., also inthis case it should be noted that many different solutions have beenrecently proposed. However, very often said solutions have been proposedto meet different needs, in such a way as to privilege, in some cases,the need for functionality and reliability, while in other cases theintention was to meet aesthetic or dimensional needs and in other casesthe focus was on ease of assembly and installation.

Thus, none of the known solutions actually meets all the needs mentionedabove.

For example, the handles of the classical type (rotating handles,handles with rack mechanism or the like) usually offer suitableguarantees regarding their functionality (which makes them the mostappreciated and the preferred solution for use on doors, windows ordoor/window frames for homes in general) but are often characterized byconsiderable dimensions, which make them unsuitable for specificapplications, for example on pieces of furniture or cabinets intended tobe used especially in camper vans or in any case in reduced spaces. Inthe same way, the solutions known and more suited to be used fordifferent purposes, like for example in the case of cabinets, are oftencharacterized by a simple construction that reduces their size and makesthem easy to assemble and to use but that often is to the detriment ofreliability and functionality.

It is thus one of the objects of the present invention to overcome thedrawbacks mentioned above and present in the solutions known in thestate of the art.

In particular, the objects and aims of the present invention can besummed up as follows.

It is a first object of the invention to provide a solution that can beused as an alternative to the handles of door leaves, doors, windows anddoor/window frames of the known type in general, as an alternative tothe connection and/or fastening systems used and known in the art forthe quick assembly of structures like for example shelving systemsand/or similar structures, and finally also as an alternative to fixingmeans like bolts, nuts etc.

It is thus, in particular, a further object of the present invention toprovide a quick connection and/or fastening system that, if used as ahandle, offers suitable guarantees in terms of reliability (eliminatingor drastically reducing the risk of accidental opening of the door orwindow), in terms of functionality (allowing the door or window to beopened by means of simple and immediate operations), in terms ofconstruction simplicity (including a limited number of component partsthat are simple and easy to manufacture), as well as in terms of ease ofassembly and/or application to the corresponding panel or door, and thathas reduced overall dimensions.

In greater detail, it is a further object of the present invention toprovide a quick connection and/or fastening system that, if used for themutual fastening of two rigid elements (for example, for assemblingshelving systems and/or similar structures), offers suitable guaranteesagainst the risk of accidental uncoupling of the parts mutually fixed toeach other by means of said system, said system being furthermore easyto assemble, suited to be constructed with simple operations as quicklyas possible, as well as suited to be applied in a simple and immediateway and in a short time to the parts to be mutually fastened and/orconnected, and having an appearance that is not antiaesthetic and areduced size.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention can be specifically and conveniently applied inthe field of construction of handles, for example for doors, windows anddoor/window frames in general, as well as for pieces of furniture,shelving systems, chests of drawers etc. Thus, this is the reason whymost of the examples of application of the device according to thepresent invention that are described below refer to the specific case ofthe handles normally used, in fact, on the doors of pieces of furniture,on chests of drawers etc., as well as on common doors and/or windows.

It should however be noted that the possible applications of the deviceaccording to the present invention are not limited to the specific caseof handles. On the contrary, the present invention can be advantageouslyapplied in all the cases where it is necessary to mutually fix twocomponents in a quick and reliable manner (avoiding any accidentaluncoupling), for example two components of a structure that may even bemore complex, in particular a wheel (for example of a motor vehicle) tothe corresponding hub or axle shaft.

The present invention is based on the general consideration that thedisadvantages or drawbacks that are typical of the solutions known inthe art (in particular of the systems usable as handles) can be overcomeor at least reduced to a minimum by providing a quick connection and/orfastening system comprising a first and a second component that aresuited to be alternatively connected to and disconnected from eachother, as well as to be respectively fixed to a first and a secondelement (for example, the frame of a door and the swinging panel of saiddoor, or the structure of a wardrobe or cabinet and a swinging doorpanel or even the front panel of a drawer), in which the mutualconnection of said two components takes place through the translation ofa portion of said first component inside said second component, whiledisconnection takes place through the translation of said portion ofsaid first component in a direction substantially opposite the couplingdirection. In this way, the functionality of the device (the handle) isconsiderably simplified as, for example in the case of a drawer, theuser does not have to carry out special operations but in order to closethe drawer and thus connect the two components of the handle he/she justneeds to push the drawer in the closing direction, while to disconnectthe two components of the handle (to open the drawer) he/she simplyneeds to pull the handle in the opening direction, substantiallyopposite the closing direction. Furthermore, in this way it is possibleto obtain a handle characterized by a reduced number of components, eachone of which is simple to construct and thus easy to assemble, in alimited time and at reduced costs. The overall dimensions of the handle,furthermore, are reduced, with evident advantages also from an aestheticpoint of view.

A further consideration on which the present invention is based concernsthe fact that additional advantages can be obtained by providing thesecond component of the handle with means suited to counteract thetranslation of the portion of the first component in the uncouplingdirection, said counteracting means being activated by the sametranslation of said portion of said first component. In this way, infact, the handle is automatically activated against the accidentaluncoupling of the two components.

Additional advantages are obtained by providing counteracting means thatare such that the force exerted by them against the translation of theend portion of the first component in the uncoupling direction increasesalong the translation direction of said end portion, until causing saidend portion to become locked inside said second component.

Moreover, further advantages will be obtained by providing the secondcomponent with means suited to deactivate said counteracting means, insuch a way as to be able to obtain the mutual disconnection of saidfirst and second component every time and only when this is necessary.

Considerable advantages can be finally obtained when said deactivationmeans are constructed in such a way as to deactivate the counteractingmeans through the translation of said deactivation means in the sameopening direction of the element to which the second component of thehandle is applied, for example in the opening direction of a drawer. Inthis way, in fact, the intervention of the user to deactivate thecounteracting means will allow the practically simultaneous opening ofthe drawer.

A first embodiment of the present invention is a quick connection and/orfastening system suited to mutually connect and disconnect a first and asecond element, said system comprising a first and a second componentsuited to be respectively fixed to said first and second component, aswell as suited to be mutually connected and disconnected in such a wayas to alternatively allow the mutual connection and disconnection ofsaid first and second element, said second component being suited tohouse an end portion of said first component in such a way as to allowit to translate inside it, said second component comprising alsocounteracting means that are suited to counteract the translation ofsaid end portion of said first component towards the outside of saidsecond component.

According a further embodiment of the invention, the subject of thepresent invention is a connection and/or fastening system in which saidsecond component comprises a rotatable element that is set rotating in afirst rotation direction by the translation of the end portion of thefirst component towards the inside of the second component and that isset rotating in a second rotation direction contrary to the firstrotation direction by the translation of the end portion of the firstcomponent towards the outside of the second component. Furthermore, saidcounteracting means are suited to counteract the rotation of saidrotatable element in said second rotation direction.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, said secondcomponent comprises a rigid portion that together with said end portionof said first component defines an inner space in which said rotatableelement is housed and in which said rigid portion, said end portion andsaid rotatable element are shaped and mutually positioned so that saidcounteracting force is generated owing to the mutual action of saidrigid portion and said end portion on said rotatable element.

Further advantages are guaranteed by the additional embodiments of thesystem according to the present invention that are defined in thefurther dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated here below through the descriptionof some embodiments of the same illustrated in the attached drawings. Itshould however be noted that the present invention is not limited to theembodiments illustrated in the drawings; on the contrary, the field ofapplication and the scope of the present invention include all thosevariants and changes to the embodiments shown and described herein thatappear to be clear, obvious and immediately understandable to any personskilled in the art. In particular, in the attached drawings:

FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c show each a sectional view of a first embodiment ofthe system according to the present invention with the first and thesecond component of said system respectively in the coupling position,in a position where they are going to be released from each other and inthe released position;

FIGS. 1d and 1e show a first example of use of the system according tothe embodiment of the present invention illustrated in Figures from 1 ato 1 c;

FIGS. 1f and 1h show a second example of use of the system according tothe embodiment of the present invention illustrated in Figures from 1 ato 1 c;

FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c show each a sectional view of a second embodiment ofthe system according to the present invention with the first and thesecond component of said system respectively in the coupling position,in a position where they are going to be released from each other and inthe released position;

FIGS. 3a and 3b show each a sectional view of an illustrative example ofthe system according to the present invention with the first and thesecond component of said system respectively in the coupling positionand in a position where they are going to be released from each other;

FIGS. 3c and 3d show an example of use of the system according to theillustrative example of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 3aand 3 b;

FIGS. 4a, 4b and 4c show each a sectional view of a further embodimentof the system according to the present invention with the first and thesecond component of said system respectively in a position where theyare going to be coupled with each other, in a position where they aregoing to be released from each other and in the released position;

FIGS. 5a and 5b show each a sectional view of an illustrative example ofthe system according to the present invention with the first and thesecond component of said system respectively in the coupling positionand in a position where they are going to be released from each other;

FIGS. 5c, 5d and 5e show an example of use of the system according tothe illustrative example of the present invention illustrated in FIGS.5a and 5 b;

FIGS. 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d concern a further embodiment of the systemaccording to the present invention;

FIGS. 7a and 7b show each a sectional view of a further embodiment ofthe system according to the present invention with the first and thesecond component of said system respectively in the coupling positionand in a position where they are going to be released from each other;

Figures from 8 a to 8 c respectively show a front view and two sectionalviews of a further embodiment of the system according to the presentinvention;

Figures from 9 a to 9 c respectively show a side view and two sectionalviews of a further embodiment of the system according to the presentinvention;

FIGS. 9d, 9e and 9f show details of three variants of the embodimentshown in FIGS. 7a and 7 b;

FIGS. 10a and 10b respectively show a front view and a plan view of somecomponent parts of a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 11a and 11b respectively show a front view and a plan view of somecomponent parts of a further embodiment of the present invention;

Figures from 12 a to 12 c show a corresponding number of sectional viewsof a further embodiment of the system according to the presentinvention;

Figures from 13 a to 13 c show a corresponding number of sectional viewsof a further embodiment of the system according to the presentinvention;

Figures from 14 a to 14 c show a corresponding number of sectional viewsof a further embodiment of the system according to the presentinvention;

Figures from 15 a to 15 c show a corresponding number of sectional viewsof a further embodiment of the system according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 shows a sectional view of a further embodiment of the systemaccording to the present invention;

FIGS. 17a and from 17 b to 17 d show a corresponding number of sectionalviews of a further embodiment of the system according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 18 shows a front view of component parts of a further embodiment ofthe system according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The first embodiment of the present invention shown in Figures from 1 ato 1 c comprises a first component 10 and a second component 20 that aresuited to interact with each other as will be explained in greaterdetail below. The first component 10 is shaped as a small bar (forexample in metal, plastic or another similar rigid material) and issuited to be rigidly fixed to a first element 100, for example thebearing structure of a shelving system or a chest of drawers, or even adoorpost or a door/window frame in general. The second component 20 ismade in the shape of a handle and therefore is suited to be rigidlyfixed to a second element 200, for example a revolving door or window,or even the front panel of a drawer. For this purpose, the secondcomponent 20 comprises a first portion suited to be housed in a properseat in the element 200 and a second, so-called external portion 28 thatserves as handle knob. The first component 10 then comprises an endportion 11 through which the first component is fixed to the element100, as well as a second end portion 12, opposite the first end portion11 and suited to be received and housed in a hollow seat 25 that has acomplementary matching shape and is obtained completely in the secondcomponent 20. Inside the second component 20 there is also a space 26delimited on one side by a rigid portion 21 (for example, a metal strap)inclined with respect to the end portion 12 of the first component 10.In particular, the end portion 12 is suited to translate inside the seat25 so as to graze the space 26 on the opposite side with respect to theinclined portion 21. For the sake of clarity, the translation directionof the end portion 12—from left to right in FIG. 1a -here below will bedefined also as the translation direction towards the inside of thesecond component 20, while the translation direction of the end 12—fromright to left in FIGS. 1a and 1b —will be defined also as thetranslation direction towards the outside of the second component 20.The inclination of the portion 21 is such that the distance between itand the end portion 12 decreases when proceeding along the translationdirection of the same end 12 towards the outside of the second component20, while it increases in the opposite direction, meaning thetranslation direction towards the inside of the component 20. Inside thespace 26 there is also a helical spring 23 fixed to or fitted on a rigidelement 22 (for example, a small cylindrical bar) whose outer diameterwill substantially coincide with the inner diameter of the helicalspring 23. Always inside the space 26 there is a rotatable andtranslatable element 24, for example a small cylinder, a rod iron pieceor even a ball, positioned at the level of the free end of the helicalspring 23 so that the helical spring 23 exerts a thrusting action onsaid rotatable element 24 towards the end of the space 26 in which thedistance between the rigid portion 21 and the end portion 12 decreases.Inside the second component 20 there is also (in a proper seat with amatching shape) a release element 27 suited to be translated inside thesecond component 20 in a direction substantially parallel to thetranslation direction of the end portion 12 and thus from left to rightin FIG. 1a (towards the inside of component 20) and from right to leftin FIG. 1a (towards the outside of component 20). The release element 27is particularly suited to be translated towards the inside of thecomponent 20 through the action exerted by a user on the knob 28 (therelease element 27 and the knob 28 thus being mutually connected throughconnection means not illustrated in the figures and, for example, alsohoused inside the component 20), and thus through the traction exertedby a user on the knob 28 from left to right in FIG. 1a , the samerelease element 27 being also suited to be translated towards theoutside of the component 20 through a thrusting action exerted by a useron the knob 28 in the direction opposite the traction direction, andthus from right to left in FIG. 1a . During its translation towards theinside of the second component 20, the release element 27 will come torest against the rotatable element 24 thus pushing it towards the insideof the component 20 against the action of the spring 23, and thuspushing it towards that portion of the inner space 26 in which thedistance between the rigid portion 21 and the end portion 12 of thefirst component 10 increases.

The operation of the connection system (the handle) according to theembodiment of the present invention illustrated in Figures from 1 a to 1c can be summed up as follows. The mutual connection of the firstcomponent 10 and the second component 20 is obtained by translating orsliding the end portion 12 of the first component 10 towards the insideof the second component 20. During the translation movement of the endportion 12 towards the inside of the component 20, the surface of theend 12 facing towards the portion 21 comes into contact with theexternal surface of the rotatable element 24 that thus is first setrotating clockwise and successively set translating thanks to thefriction generated between the end portion 12 and the rotatable element24, said rotatable element 24 being in contact also with the surface ofthe portion 21 facing towards the end portion 12 of the first component10. During its clockwise rotation and its successive translation, therotatable element 24 thus moves against the action of the spring (fromleft to right in FIG. 1a ) and thus towards that part or portion of thespace 26 in which the distance between the rigid portion 21 and the endportion 12 of the first component 10 increases. The rotatable andtranslatable element 24, therefore, does not hinder the translation ofthe end portion 12 towards the inside of the component 20, so that theend portion 12 is able to reach its final position inside the component20 as shown in FIG. 1a , final position that is thus defined as a mutuallocking position between the first component 10 and the second component20, in such a way as to mutually lock the two elements 100 and 200 in apredefined position.

The accidental release of the first component 10 and of the secondcomponent 20 (and thus, for example, the accidental opening of a draweror of a door or window) is therefore impossible, since in the lockingcondition illustrated in FIG. 1a any accidental translation of the endportion 12 towards the outside of the component 20 is impossible. Infact, during the translation of the end portion 12 towards the outsideof the component 20, the rotatable element 24 is set rotatinganticlockwise, and if necessary is even set translating (thanks to thefriction between the end portion 12 and the rotatable element 24 itself)and thus moved towards that portion of the space 26 in which thedistance between the rigid portion 21 and the end portion 12 decreases.The movement of the rotatable element 24 towards said portion of thespace 26 (and thus substantially towards the outside of the component20) leads the rotatable element 24 to become engaged between the endportion 12 and the portion 21, so that at a certain point neither afurther anticlockwise rotation of the element 21 nor a furthertranslation of the end portion 12 towards the outside of the component20 will be possible. In other words, at a certain point during itsanticlockwise rotation, and thus at a certain point during thetranslation of the end portion 12 towards the outside, the rotatableelement 24 will become engaged between the end portion 12 and the rigidportion 21 so as to lock even the end portion 12. Therefore, a user whowants to open, for example, a door or a drawer (the element 200) byacting directly on said door or drawer so as to exclude the component 20(without exerting any action on the knob 28) will not be able to obtainthe mutual release of the component 20 and the component 10, and thuswill not be able to open said door or drawer. The mutual release of thetwo components 10 and 20 (and thus the opening of the door or drawer)will on the other hand be possible by pulling the knob 28 from left toright as shown in FIG. 1b , and thus in such a way as to translate therelease element 27 towards the inside of the component 20. In fact,during its translation towards the inside of the component 20, therelease element 27, as already explained above, pushes the rotatable andtranslatable element 24 towards the inside of the component 20 and thustowards the portion of the space 26 in which the distance between theportion 21 and the end 12 increases. In this way, therefore, theopposing action (friction) between the external surface of the rotatableand translatable element 24 and the surface of the end portion 12 facingtowards the rigid portion 21 decreases (even to the extent of beingcompletely eliminated in the position in which the rotatable andtranslatable element 24 is not in contact with the end portion 12 anylonger). Therefore, in these conditions, a translation of the endportion 12 towards the outside of the component 20 leads neither to ananticlockwise rotation of the rotatable element 24 nor to its movementor shift towards the outside (towards that portion of the space 26 inwhich the distance between the end 12 and the portion 21 decreases), sothat the end 12 is free to translate until moving completely out of thecomponent 20, as shown in FIG. 1c . It can thus be understood from theabove that, for example in the case of a drawer 200 withdrawable from achest of drawers from left to right as shown in FIG. 1a , a user will beable to open said drawer 200 by simply pulling the knob 28 in the sameopening direction of the drawer, so that a single traction operationexerted on the knob 28 will first allow the mutual release of the twocomponents 20 and 10 of the system and also the opening of the draweritself. On the contrary, any attempt to open the drawer 200 withoutexerting any action on the knob 28 will lead to the mutual locking ofthe two components 20 and 10 of the system.

FIGS. 1d and 1e schematically show a first example of use or applicationof the system according to the embodiment of the present inventionpreviously described. In this case, in fact, the first component 10 isrigidly fixed to the bearing structure 100 of a chest of drawers orcabinet 300, while the second component 20 is applied to the front panelof a drawer 200 so that the knob 28 of the system projects from thefront panel 200 towards the outside of the cabinet 300. The opening andclosing of the drawer will thus be achieved by proceeding as previouslydescribed, through a pulling or pushing action exerted on the knob 28.

A second example of application or use of the embodiment of the systemaccording to the present invention as previously described is shown inFIGS. 1f and 1h . In this case, the element 100 is constituted by avertical wall while the element 200 is constituted by a shelf. Twocomponents 10 are rigidly fixed to the vertical wall 100 and twocomponents 20 are fixed to the shelf 200, on the edge of the same thatis intended to be facing towards the vertical wall 100. The assembly ofthe shelving system shown in FIGS. 1f and 1h will thus be obtained bypreviously fixing the components 10 to the vertical wall 100 and thecomponents 20 to the shelf 200 in corresponding positions. Finally,pushing the shelf 200 towards the vertical wall 100 leads to the mutuallocking of the components 10 and 20 and thus to the fastening of theshelf 200 to the vertical wall 100. To remove the shelf it will thus benecessary to act only on the components 10 and/or 20 as described aboveand then to move the shelf 200 away from the vertical wall 100.

A further embodiment of the system according to the present invention isdescribed here below with reference to Figures from 2 a to 2 c; in theFigures from 2 a to 2 c those component parts or characteristics of thesystem according to the present invention already described above areidentified by the same reference numbers.

The embodiment shown in Figures from 2 a to 2 c comprises many of thecomponent parts that are present in the embodiment described above withreference to Figures from 1 a to 1 c. In fact, in FIG. 2a it is possibleto observe a first component 10 with a first end 11 through which saidfirst component 10 is fixed to a first element 100, and a second end 12housed in a seat 25 obtained inside the second component 20 so that itcan slide and be translated inside said second component 20. A space 26is obtained also in this case inside the component 20 so that said innerspace 26 is in contact with the seat 25 where the end 12 is housed andslides. Also in this case the inner space 26 is defined by a rigidportion 21 that is inclined with respect to the sliding direction of theend 12 so that the distance between the portion 21 and the end portion12 decreases towards the outside of the component 20. A supportingelement 22 extends inside said space 26 and is provided with a helicalspring 23 engaged therein, which pushes towards the outside of thecomponent 20 (and thus towards that portion of the space 26 in which thedistance between the portion 21 and the end portion 12 is shorter) arotatable and translatable element 24 (for example a small cylinder, apawl or even a ball) that is housed inside the space 26, too. The maindifference between this embodiment and the embodiment previouslydescribed lies in that, in this case, the hand grip or knob of theprevious embodiment is replaced by a hollow body or casing 28 throughwhich the second component 20 is fixed to the element 200, in particularto the side of the element 200 facing towards the first component 10 andthe element 100. The hollow body 28 slides on the main body of thesecond component 20 from left to right and from right to left as shownin the figures (and thus along a direction substantially parallel to thesliding direction of the end 12), a second helical spring 30 beinghoused in a suitable seat created between the main body of the secondcomponent 20 and the hollow body 28. It can thus be understood that thehelical spring 30 pushes the hollow body 28 from right to left in thefigures, and thus that the sliding movement of the hollow body 28 fromleft to right takes place opposing the action of the helical spring 30.A release element 27 is suited to be driven by the hollow body 28towards the inside of the second component 20 during the translation ofthe hollow body 28 from left to right.

As in the case of the embodiment described above, during its translationtowards the inside of the component 20 the release element 27 pushes therotatable and translatable element 24 towards the portion of the space26 in which the distance between the portion 21 and the end portion 12of the first component 10 is greater, thus allowing the translation ofthe end portion 12 towards the outside of the second component 20 andthus the mutual release of the first component 10 and of the secondcomponent 20 (with the result that the element 100 is released from theelement 200). The mutual locking of the first component 10 and of thesecond component 20, therefore, also in this case is achieved throughthe insertion of the end portion 12 in the second component 20. In thiscase, however, the mutual release is obtained by simply acting on theelement 200 so as to move it away from the element 100. In fact, in thisway, since at the beginning the first and the second element are in aposition of mutual locking and are thus constrained to each other,acting on the element 200 so as to move it away from the element 100first makes the casing 28 slide on the second component 20 (against theaction of the spring 30) and then drives the release element 27 thatthus pushes the rotatable and translatable element 24 towards theportion of the inner space 26 in which the distance between the portion21 and the end 12 is greater, until the rotatable and translatableelement 24 reaches a position in which its external surface is not anylonger or is only slightly in contact with the end portion 12, or atleast on which the friction between the external surface of therotatable and translatable element 24 and the end portion 12 is minimal.In this way, the counteracting action exerted by the element 24 on theend portion 12 is eliminated and thus continuous action on the element200 to move it away from the element 100 makes the end portion 12 comeout of the component 20 and thus releases the two components 10 and 20,as well as the two elements 100 and 200. In order to prevent the portion21 from hindering or blocking the translation of the release element 27towards the inside of the component 20, the release element 27 isprovided with a suitable seat 29 intended to house the end of theportion 21 facing towards the outside of the component 20 (in thisregard, see FIG. 2b ).

In the illustrative example of the system according to the presentinvention illustrated in FIGS. 3a and 3b (in which as usual componentparts and/or characteristics already described above are identified bythe same reference numbers) the first component 10 is quite similar tothe one present in the embodiments previously described and is thussuited to be fixed to a first element 100 (for example a shelf) with oneof its ends, while a second end portion is suited to be slidingly housedinside the second component 20. Said second component 20 comprises inthis case a lower part I and an upper part S, with a truncatedcone-shaped or funnel-shaped seat created in said lower part I in such away as to define an inner space 26 in which balls 24 are housed so thatthey can rotate and are arranged in a circle around a centre pin of saidtruncated cone-shaped seat, elastic thrusting means 23 being interposedbetween the centre pin and the balls so as to thrust the balls towardsthe outside of the truncated cone-shaped seat and thus towards theshallower portion of said truncated cone-shaped seat. The upper part Sis positioned above the lower part I at a predefined distance, in such away as to define an air space 25 inside which the end portion 12 of thefirst component 10 can slide or translate. The lower surface of thetruncated cone-shaped seat thus corresponds to the inclined portion 21that is present in the embodiments described above, so that the mutualaction between the balls 24, the lower surface 21 of the truncatedcone-shaped seat and the end portion 12 is quite similar to the actionthat is generated in the embodiments described above, so that theinsertion of the end portion 12 of the first component towards theinside of the second component 20 takes place in a way that is almostequal to that described for the previous embodiments. The specialfeature of this illustrative example, however, lies in that the mutualdistance between the upper part S and the lower part I can be changed(in particular, increased) by rotating a knob 28 as indicated by thearrow in FIG. 3b and thus in such a way as to increase the cross sectionof the seat 25 where the end portion 12 of the first component 10slides. The release of the first component 10 from the second component20, and thus of the first element 100 from the second element 200, isobtained by acting on the knob 28 in such a way as to move the upperpart S from the position shown in FIG. 3a to that shown in FIG. 3b .With the upper part S in the position shown in FIG. 3b , the end 12,during its translation towards the outside of the second component 20,does not cause the rotation of one or more of the balls 24 so that thesame are not driven towards the external part of the truncatedcone-shaped seat 26 and no friction or opposing action is generatedbetween the balls 24 and said end 12, so that the same end 12 will befree to exit from the second component 20.

FIGS. 3c and 3d show an example of application and/or use of theillustrative example just described above. In the example of applicationillustrated above, the first component 10 is fixed to a shelf 100 whilethe second component 20 is inserted in a post 200, for example a bearingcolumn. The first element 100 is thus fastened to the bearing column 200by inserting the end of the first component 10 in the air space 25between the upper part S and the lower part I of the second component 20while said first element 100 and second element 200 can be released fromeach other by releasing the two components 10 and 20 of the systemproceeding as described above. One of the advantages offered by thisillustrative example lies in that several elements 100 can be fastenedto the support 200 using a single component 20 and arranging said firstelements along the circumference of said single component 20.

The embodiment of the system according to the present inventionillustrated in Figures from 4 a to 4 c (in which, as usual, componentparts and/or characteristics already described above with reference toother figures are identified by the same reference numbers) can be quiteconveniently applied to a container 300, for example a waste containeras illustrated in the figures. The same embodiment of the presentinvention can however be applied, as conveniently as in the formerinstance, for example, to dumpers or heavy vehicles, agriculturalmachines and/or building machines etc. In particular, the firstcomponent 10 of the system according to the embodiment of the presentinvention illustrated in Figures from 4 a to 4 c is fixed to the mainbody 100 of the container 300 while the second component 20 is housed ina suitable seat in the door 200 of said container, said door 200 beingconstrained to the main body 100 of the container 300 through arevolving constraint 201 like, for example, a hinge. While on the onehand it is necessary to refer to the previous description (inparticular, to the description of the first embodiment of the inventionillustrated in Figures from 1 a to 1 c) regarding the mutual interactionbetween the end of the first component 10 and the components housedinside the second component 20 (rotatable and/or translatable elementand spring housed in an inner space defined by an inclined surfaceetc.), since the arrangement of said component parts is substantiallyidentical to that provided in said embodiment previously described, itshould be noted that a specific feature of the present embodiment isrepresented by the fact that inside the second component 20 there is aV-shaped seat 43 that communicates with the inside and the outside ofthe second component 20 and therefore in particular with the inside andthe outside of the container 300. Inside said seat 43 there is a smallsphere 42 that is free to move inside the seat 43. In particular, themovement of the small sphere 42 inside the seat 43 takes place thanks tothe action of the force of gravity when the user acts on the container300 and/or the door 200, for example rotating them as indicated by thearrows A and B in the figures. A lever 44 (which, as can be clearlyunderstood from the following description, serves the same function asthe knob 28 previously described) is arranged so that a portion of thesame is slidingly housed inside the component 20 and is in communicationwith the release element 27 (not illustrated in the figures for the sakeof clarity) while a second portion of the lever 44 is arranged so thatits free end is at the level of the opening of the V-shaped seat 43facing towards the outside of the container 300. On the opposite side ofthe component 20 with respect to the lever 44, a second rocking lever 40is revolvingly constrained to the component 20 through a revolvingconstraint 41 like for example a hinge, so that an end portion of thelever 40 is at the level of the opening of the seat 43 facing towardsthe inside of the container 300, while the opposite end of the lever 41is positioned at the level of the release element 27.

The mutual release of the two components 10 and 20 of the system, andthus the opening of the door 200, can therefore be summed up as follows.

Rotating the container in the direction of the arrow B as shown in FIG.4b (and thus clockwise) makes the small sphere 42 slide inside the seat43 towards the external opening of said seat 43 until it hits againstthe lever 44 that thus is thrust and translated towards the outside ofthe container 300 and of the second component 20, so that the portion ofthe lever 44 housed inside the component 20 brings with itself therelease element 27 that at this point acts on the rotatable elementuntil this reaches the position in which the friction, and therefore theopposing action generated between the rotatable element and the endportion 12 of the first component 10, is eliminated or at least reduced,thus allowing the mutual release of the first component 10 and thesecond component 20 from each other. In this way, therefore, alwaysthanks to the action of the force of gravity, the door opensautomatically as shown in FIG. 4c , allowing the container to beemptied.

In the same way, acting on the door 200 so as to rotate it in thedirection of the arrow A in FIG. 4a means obtaining first the at leastpartial rotation of the entire container 300 in the same rotationdirection (anticlockwise), the first component 10 and the secondcomponent 20 being constrained to each other. Continued rotation of thedoor 200 (and/or of the entire container) in the same rotation directionmakes the small sphere 42 move by gravity inside the seat 43 towards theopening in the seat 43 facing towards the inside of the container andthus hit against the end of the rocking lever 40 positioned at the levelof said opening. The impact of the small sphere 42 against the end ofthe rocking lever 40 causes the latter to rotate around the constraint41 so that the second end of the rocking lever is pushed towards theinside of the component 20 bringing the release element 27 with itselfin its pushing movement. At this point the first and the secondcomponent 10 and 20 are mutually released from each other and it is thuspossible to open the door 200. It appears evident from the above that aconsiderable advantage offered by this embodiment lies in that themutual release of the components 10 and 20 of the system (and thus therelease of the door 200 from the main body of the container 100) isobtained by acting directly either on the door or on the container, andtherefore with no need for any direct action on one of the twocomponents of the system.

An illustrative example of the system according to the present inventionis described here below with reference to FIGS. 5a and 5 b.

In this illustrative example, the first component 10 of the system hasthe shape of a hollow tubular element suited to be inserted andpartially housed in a proper seat 101 in a first element 100. The secondcomponent 20 is constituted by a hollow body suited to house the endportion 12 of the first component 10, end that in this case extends onone side of the first element 100 (on the right in FIGS. 5a and 5b ). Aportion of said end 12 defining a truncated-cone shaped surface 22 whosediameter decreases towards the first element 100 extends from theexternal surface of the end 12 of the first component 10. In the sameway, the second component 20 comprises a truncated-cone shaped portion21 that defines a truncated-cone shaped surface opposite thetruncated-cone shaped surface 22, so as to form an air space 26. On thetruncated cone-shaped surface defined by the truncated cone-shapedportion 22 there is a circumferential groove housing rotatable elementslike balls or similar elements. The first component 10 also comprises aradial seat 55 in which a dowel 50 is engaged, said dowel 50 beingprovided with an external thread that in turn engages with the internalthread of an engagement seat of the dowel, said seat being obtained inthe second component 20. A second dowel 51 is screwed into a threadedengagement seat of the second component 20 so that the end of said dowel51 projecting towards the inside of the second component 20 becomesengaged in a sliding seat 52 obtained on the external surface of thefirst component 10. A helical spring 23 is interposed between the firstcomponent 10 and the second component 20 as shown in FIG. 5b , and inparticular in such a way as to thrust the second component 20 towardsthe first element 100, and thus from right to left in FIGS. 5a and 5b .The function of the spheres 24, of the truncated cone-shaped surfaces 21etc. is similar to that of the corresponding parts provided in theembodiments previously described, therefore the detailed description ofsaid function is omitted for the sake of brevity, simply specifying thatthe mutual locking of the first component 10 and the second component 20takes place thanks to the counteracting action between the balls and thecorresponding truncated cone-shaped surfaces, in such a way as toprevent the first component 10 from withdrawing from the secondcomponent 20 sliding towards the outside of the second component 20, inparticular from right to left in FIGS. 5a and 5b . In the case of thisembodiment, the sliding movement of the second component 20 with respectto the first component 10 in the opposite direction (release), and thusin the direction in which the second component 20 would move away fromthe element 100, is prevented also by the dowel 50 that, as previouslyexplained, becomes engaged in a seat obtained in the first component 10.In order to obtain the mutual release of the first component 10 and ofthe second component 20, and thus to move the second component 20 awayfrom the element 100, it is necessary to act on the dowel 50 so as tomake it exit from the engagement seat 55. (The dowel thus serves afurther safety function against any accidental release). At this point,the component 20 can be moved away from the element 100 (translating itfrom left to right as shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b ) until reaching thefinal position defined by the engagement of the second dowel 51 in theengagement seat 52 obtained on the external surface of the end 12 of thefirst component 10. With the second component 20 in this final position,the space between the two truncated cone-shaped surfaces will increase,as shown in FIG. 5b , and thus the friction and the opposing actionbetween the balls 24 and the external surface of the end portion 12 areeliminated, so that said end portion 12 can be withdrawn from thecomponent 20 from right to left as shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b , so as toobtain the mutual release of the two components 10 and 20. Furthermore,the dowel 50, becoming engaged in the engagement seat 55 with its end,serves the further function of exerting a compression force on theexternal surface of the first component 10, avoiding troublesome slacksand/or mutual movements between said first component 10 and said secondcomponent 20.

FIGS. 5c and 5d schematically show one of the possible uses of theillustrative example just described, in particular the use of the systemaccording to said illustrative example of the present invention forfixing, for example, a shelf 200 to a supporting wall 100. In fact, itcan be observed in particular in FIG. 5d that two first components 10 ofthe system can be fixed to the wall 100 so that they project from thesame, while two components 20 can be fixed to the edge of the shelf (buteven under the shelf) facing towards the wall 100 in such correspondingpositions that moving the shelf 200 towards the wall 100 inserts eachone of the two first components 10 in a corresponding component 20 untilthey reach the mutual position shown in FIG. 5a , where it is fixed byacting on the dowel 50.

A second use of the illustrative example of the system according to thepresent invention just described is schematically illustrated in FIG. 5e, in which a hinge intended to revolvingly constrain a door or window toa frame is made up of two elements 100 and 200, a first component 10 ofthe system being fixed to the first element 100 so that it projects fromthe same, while a second element 20 of the system is revolvingly fixedto a second element 200 in turn intended to be fixed to said frame. Thetwo components of the system are then positioned on the two oppositefaces of the door/window panel 400 at the level of a suitable opening500 with the first component 10 that extends through said opening 500,and then fixed and constrained to each other through the insertion ofthe first component 10 in the second component 20. With the first andthe second component 10 and 20 mutually fixed to each other and also tothe door/window panel 400 as just described, the element 200 can befixed to the frame (for example through screws or similar fasteningmeans). Therefore, as the second component 20 is revolvingly fixed tothe element 200 (for example, through a hinge), the door/window panel400 is revolvingly constrained to the frame.

In the embodiment shown in Figures from 6 a to 6 d, the system accordingto the present invention is carried out in the form of a handlecomprising a sliding bolt, a hand grip or knob P and a portion Mintended to be fixed to a door or window, for example to be housed in asuitable seat provided in said door or window. In particular, thesliding bolt is made with the first component 10 of the system, a firstend of said first component 10 being suited to be engaged in a groove ina doorpost St, the opposite end of said first component 10 beingslidingly housed (from left to right and vice versa in the figures)inside the second component 20. In particular, thanks to the action of ahelical spring E, the bolt or first component 10 is maintained in anextended position by the second component 20, any sliding movement ofthe bolt or first component 10 towards the inside of the secondcomponent 20 being prevented by the counteracting action exerted on theexternal surface of said first component or bolt 10 by a rotatableand/or translatable element 24 housed in a seat 26 defined by saidexternal surface of said bolt or first component 10 and an inclined ortapered surface 21 defined by the second component 20 (as it occurs inthe case of the other embodiments). As already explained, the helicalspring 23 pushes the rotatable element (small cylinder, pawl, ball etc.)in the sliding direction of the bolt 10 towards the inside of the secondcomponent 20, and thus towards that portion of the space 26 in which thedistance between the external surface of the bolt 10 and the inclined ortapered surface 21 decreases. In the locking position shown in FIG. 6b ,in which the bolt is locked with respect to the second component 20, thesliding movement of the bolt 10 towards the inside of the secondcomponent 20 is prevented as the bolt 10, being translated towards theinside, would set the rotatable element 24 rotating and/or translatingby moving it towards the inside of the second component 20 and thustowards that portion of the space 26 in which the distance between thesurface 21 and the external surface of the bolt 10 decreases, thusoriginating that counteracting force that prevents the translationtowards the inside of the bolt 10, in a way almost equal to thatdescribed with reference to the previous embodiments. In the position inwhich the bolt 10 is locked with respect to the component 20, as theexternal end of the bolt 10 is housed inside the housing or engagementseat of the doorpost St, any mutual movement of the system (and thus ofthe door panel) with respect to the doorpost is impossible, so that thedoor/window panel is locked in the closed position. The door/window canthus be opened only by releasing the bolt 10 so that the same can slidetowards the inside of the second component 20, wherein the release ofthe bolt 10 can be summed up as follows. It can be seen in FIG. 6d thatthe knob P is connected to a portion Pi slidingly housed inside thesecond component 20, said portion comprising a groove Sc (V-shaped ifseen from above) that comprises in particular two counteracting surfacesSc2 and Sc1, perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 6d , which when the knobP is moved in a predefined direction (respectively moving it away fromor moving it near the door) strike against the element 24 and move(thrust) it towards that portion of the space 26 in which the distancebetween the inclined surface 21 and the external surface of the bolt 10is greater. In this way, during the translation of the bolt 10 towardsthe inside of the component 20, the rotatable element 24 is no morethrust or moved towards that “narrow” part of the space 26 in which thedistance between the surface 21 and the external surface of the bolt 10decreases and cannot become engaged between the surface 21 and theexternal surface of the bolt 10, so that no counteracting action againstthe translation of the bolt 10 towards the inside of the component 20 isgenerated, said counteracting action, instead, being generated when thegroove Sc is in the position shown in FIG. 6b . Thus, moving the knob Paway from the door/window (or even moving it near the latter) releasesthe bolt 10 from the second component 20, so that the end of the bolt10, during the rotation of the door/window (or the translation, forexample, of a drawer) strikes against the internal wall of the grooveprovided in the doorpost, and thus is pushed towards the inside of thecomponent 20, thus allowing the door/window panel to be released fromthe doorpost St and thus allowing the door/window to be opened. It canthus be inferred from the above description that, even in the case ofthis embodiment of the system according to the present invention, thetwo elements (in this case the doorpost and the door/window panel),constrained to each other by means of the system according to thepresent invention, can be released through the same operation by meansof which it is possible to obtain the mutual release of the firstcomponent 10 and of the second component 20 of the system itself.

In other words, both pulling and pushing the knob P in the openingdirection of the door/window achieve the release of the two componentsof the system (handle) and thus practically at the same time the openingof the window/door.

A further embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown inFIGS. 7a and 7b , said embodiment comprising a rocking lever 40 easilyconstrained to the second component 20 through a revolving constraint(for example, a hinge) 41, a first end 48 of the rocking lever 40 beingpositioned at the level of an electrically powered solenoid 60, the end49 of the rocking lever 40 opposite the end 48 being positioned at thelevel of the release element 27. The action of the solenoid consists inmoving the rocking lever, in particular in rotating it in a firstrotation direction (anticlockwise with respect to FIGS. 7a and 7b ) sothat the end 49 becomes engaged with the release element 27 pushing ittowards the inside of the second component 20 in such a way as tomutually release the first component 10 (its end housed inside thesecond component 20) and the first component 20. In the same way, thesolenoid 60 can be operated or powered electrically, so as to obtain therotation of the rocking lever 40 in the opposite direction (clockwisewith respect to FIGS. 7a and 7b ) and thus to translate the releaseelement 27 towards the outside of the component 20, finally obtainingthe mutual locking of the component 10 and the component 20.

In other embodiments, not described herein for the sake of brevity, theactuator element, constituted by the solenoid 60, can be replaced by anyother actuator system suited to perform a similar function, like forexample a piston, a compressed air jet, a mechanical moving mechanismwith a motor or any electrical or automated mechanism.

A further example of application of the locking and/or fastening systemaccording to the present invention is illustrated in Figures from 8 a to8 c, in which, as usual, component parts and/or characteristics of thesystem already described above with reference to other figures areidentified by the same reference numbers.

In the figures, the reference numbers 100 and 200 identify respectivelythe supporting disc of a wheel (for example, of a car) and the rim ofthe wheel. Threaded bolts usually project from the supporting disc andare suited to be housed in a corresponding hole in the rim, thefastening of the wheel being achieved through the engagement of acorresponding threaded nut in each one of the bolts. The embodiment ofthe system according to the present invention illustrated in Figuresfrom 8 a to 8 c is proposed as an alternative to the fastening of thewheel with bolts and nuts.

For this purpose, four first components 10 (but the number may varydepending on the needs and/or circumstances) are fixed to a firstelement 100 (corresponding to the wheel's supporting disc), each one ofsaid first components 10 being partially housed in a housing seat ofsaid first element 100, so that an end portion 12 of each firstcomponent 10 projects from said first element 100, in particular on theside of the element 100 to which the second element or rim 200 will beapplied. In particular, the second element 200 is fixed to said firstelement 100 by engaging in each first component 10 a second component 20(which thus replaces the classical nut known in the art) proceeding asdescribed below. For the sake of brevity, the description provided belowconcerns a first component 10 and a corresponding second component 20,as well as their mutual locking and release, the following descriptionbeing applicable to each one of the first and second components 10 and20 shown in the figures.

The projecting end portion 12 of the first component 10 has a slightlytruncated cone-shaped longitudinal section, with the diameter of thecross section decreasing towards the first element 100, said end portionbeing suited to be housed and translated inside a space 26 defined bythe second component 20. In particular, also said inner space 26 has atruncated cone-shaped longitudinal section, the inner diameter of saidspace 26 decreasing towards the first element 100, too, and thus fromright to left in FIGS. 8b and 8c . Once again, an air space is thusdefined between the external truncated cone-shaped surface 22 of the end12 of the first component 10 and the internal truncated cone-shapedsurface 21 of the space 26 of the second component 20.

Furthermore, the inner space 26 partially houses, on the opposite sidewith respect to the end 12 of the first component 10, a hollow body 28,which in turn partially houses the end 12 of the first component 10. Inparticular, said hollow body is suited to slide inside the space 26 andon the end 12 of the first component 10. On the external surface of thehollow body 28 (in particular, on the external surface of the portion ofthe hollow body 28 housed inside the space 26) there is acircumferential groove housing a plurality of balls 24 that are thusarranged so as to form a crown outside the hollow body 28. A helicalspring 23 is arranged outside the hollow body 28, said helical spring 23being in particular housed between the external surface of the hollowbody 28 and the internal surface 21 of the second component 20 thatdefines the space 26. In particular, a first end of the spring (facingtowards the first element 100) is arranged so that it strikes against anexternal annular projection of the hollow body 28, while a second end ofthe spring 23, opposite said first end, is arranged so that it strikesagainst an annular projection of the second component 20. The functionof the helical spring 23 is thus to maintain the hollow body 28 pushedtowards the first element 10 (towards the left in FIG. 8c ), andtherefore with the balls 24 pushed towards that portion of the space 26in which the distance between the internal surface 21 and the externalsurface 22 decreases.

The assembly position of the rim 200 on the supporting disc 100, as wellas the mutual locking position of the first components 10 and the secondcomponents 20 is the one shown in FIG. 8b . It can in fact be inferredfrom this figure that the rim 200 has been applied to the disc 100 insuch a way that each one of the first components 10 is received andhoused in a corresponding through hole in the rim 200. Furthermore, aBelleville washer Mt (whose function is explained below) has beeninserted between the rim 200 and the disc 100 at the level of each oneof the first components 10, which means that the end 12 of eachcomponent 10 will be partially housed in the through hole of acorresponding Belleville washer Mt interposed between the disc and thesecond component 20. In the mutual position shown in FIG. 8b , thesecond component 20 and the first component 10 are rigidly constrainedto each other, and thus the rim 200 is rigidly fixed to the supportingdisc 100. In fact, in the position shown in FIG. 8b , the helical springmaintains the balls 24 in the portion of the space 26 in which thedistance between the surfaces 21 and 22 is shorter.

Therefore, any attempt to remove the second component 20 from thecorresponding first component 10 (pulling it to the right as shown inFIG. 8b so as to withdraw it from the first component 10) would benullified by the counteracting action mutually exerted by the balls 24and the surfaces 21 and 22, as the balls 24, becoming engaged betweensaid two surfaces, would prevent any translation movement to the rightof the second component 20 (in a way similar to the case of the previousembodiments) which thus could be neither moved away from the rim 200 norremoved from the first component 10. The release of the second component20 from the first component 10 is also possible through an actionexerted on the hollow body 28 in the following way. Pulling the hollowbody 28 towards the outside of the second component 20 (of the space 26)in the direction left-right indicated by the arrow in FIG. 8c in such away as to compress the helical spring 23 as shown in the figurerepositions the balls 24 in a portion of the space 26 in which thedistance between the surfaces 21 and 22 is longer, and thus in such away as to reduce or even eliminate the mutual friction between saidsurfaces 21 and 22 and the balls 24. This also eliminates thecounteracting force that opposes the sliding movement of the component20 on the component 10 from left to right in the figures. The component20 can thus be withdrawn from the component 10 as shown in particular inFIG. 8 c.

Withdrawing each component 20 as just described above from thecorresponding component 10 makes it possible to finally release andremove the rim 200 from the supporting disc 100. The function of theBelleville washers Mt is thus to favour the reinforcement of the mutualconstraint between the second component 20 and the first component 10.In fact, each Belleville washer Mt acts on the corresponding secondcomponent 20 so as to push it in the direction in which the same wouldmove away from the corresponding first component 10; as just explained,however, any thrusting action in this direction (without acting on thehollow body 28 by pulling it as just described) has only the effect ofengaging and fixing the balls 24 between the surfaces 21 and 22 evenmore firmly, preventing any further translation of the second component20 and eliminating even the slightest slack that may hypothetically bepresent.

A further embodiment and a further example of application of the systemaccording to the present invention are described below with reference toFigures from 9 a to 9 c.

The same Figures from 9 a to 9 c show a first and a second portion of apipe 100 and 200 (here below respectively defined also as first andsecond element). Said first and said second element are connected toeach other by means of the embodiment of the system according to thepresent invention illustrated in Figures from 9 a to 9 c, in such a wayas to obtain a continuous pipe, that is, in such a way as to make theinner flow sections of said first and second element 100 and 200coincide. For this purpose, a first component 10 is fixed to a free endof the first element 100, while a second component 20 is fixed to a freeend of the second element 200, so that the mutual fastening of saidfirst and said second element 100 and 200 is obtained by constrainingsaid first and said second component 10 and 20 to each other. For thispurpose, both the first component 10 and the second component 20comprise a tubular end suited to be inserted in the end portionrespectively of said first and said second element 100 and 200 and fixedto it, for example by means of clamps or similar fastening means.

In particular, the first component 10 is provided with a first duct 12 tand comprises one end 12 (opposite said end fixed to the component 100)that is substantially spherical in shape; in turn, the second component20 is provided with a second duct 20 t and comprises one end (oppositethe end fixed to the element 200) that is substantially cylindrical andis suited to house said spherical end 12 of said first component 10. Ingreater detail, inside the cylindrical end of the second component 20there is a sealing element (suited to prevent fluid leakages) thatdefines a substantially spherical inner space 26 suited to house saidsubstantially spherical end 12 of said first component 10. Furthermore,said second component 20 comprises also a hollow body 28 that is fittedon the cylindrical end of the component 20 opposite the element 200 andis suited to slide on said cylindrical end of the component 20 in thelongitudinal direction (from top to bottom and vice versa in thefigures). In particular, the hollow body 28 comprises an external wallsuited to slide on the external surface of the cylindrical end of thecomponent 20 and an internal wall suited to slide on the internal wallof the cylindrical end of the component 10, as well as a transversalwall connecting said internal and external walls of the hollow body 28.This means that the end of the cylindrical wall of the component 20 ishoused in a U-shaped seat in said hollow body, defined by its external,internal and transversal walls. Between the hollow body 28 and thecylindrical end of the component 20 there are helical springs 23 (in anumber as desired) suited to exert a thrusting action on saidtransversal wall of said hollow body 28 in a direction parallel to thetranslation direction of the hollow body 28 with respect to the secondcomponent 20 (towards the bottom in the figures). Furthermore, insidethe component 20, in particular between its internal surface (comprisinga tapered or truncated cone-shaped portion 21, the one in lower positionin FIG. 9b ) and the external surface of the end 12 of the component 10,as well as above the internal wall of the hollow body 28, there areballs 24 in a number as desired and substantially arranged in a circlearound said spherical portion 12 of said first component 10. The mutuallocking position of the first component 10 and the second component 20is the one shown in FIG. 9b . In this position, in fact, the sphericalend 12 of the first component is housed inside the seat 26. Furthermore,thanks to the action of the springs 23, the hollow body is maintained inthe position of maximum extension (pushed downwards in FIG. 9b ) withrespect to the component 20 (its hollow main body), a position in whichthe balls 24 are positioned beyond the portion with maximum diameter ofthe spherical end 12 of the first component 10. In this position, anyattempt to extract the spherical end 12 from the hollow seat 26 wouldonly result in thrusting the balls 24 towards the outside; however, inthis way the balls would be moved towards the outside of the hollow seat26, along the tapered surface 21, and thus the balls would get fixedbetween the spherical end 12 and said tapered surface 21, thuspreventing any further translation of the end 12 towards the outside ofthe hollow seat 26. To obtain the mutual release of the first component10 and the second component 20, however, it is sufficient to interveneon the hollow body 28, as shown in FIG. 9c , thus thrusting it towardsthe main body of the second component 20 opposing the action of thesprings 23. In this way, the balls 24 are thrust by the internal wall ofthe hollow body 28 and moved by the same wall between the externalsurface of the end 12 and the tapered surface 21 towards that portion ofthe internal space of the component 20 in which the distance between thetapered surface 21 and the external surface of the end 20 is longer,that is, in such a way that the balls can move beyond the portion of thespherical end 12 with maximum diameter. At this point, if the sphericalend 12 of the first component 10 is pulled in the extraction direction,said spherical end does not meet any longer the resistance generated bythe opposition between the balls 24, the tapered surface 21 and itsexternal surface but it is free to move out of the hollow seat 26.

It should be underlined that the articulated spherical shape shown inthe example ensures safe fastening, although allowing movement androtation in more than one direction in an articulated manner.

It should be specified that in the embodiments of the inventionpreviously described the angle of inclination of the portion 21 (of itsupper surface in contact with the rotatable and translatable element 24,be it flat or truncated cone-shaped etc.) can be selected according tothe needs and/or circumstances. Tests carried out using the system thatis the subject of the invention have given the following results,depending on the different angles. With an angle included between 1° and8° (see FIG. 9d ) a safe locking is obtained, of the conical clampingtype; on the other hand, in this case the release operation becomes moredifficult. This angle, therefore, is particularly convenient in case ofuse of the system of the invention on the hub of a wheel. With anglesincluded between 8° and 16° (preferably 12°, see FIG. 9e ) an optimal(safe) locking result can be obtained but the release is facilitated, infact it is sufficient to exert a limited (if not even negligible) forceon the release component. These angles are thus particularly suitablefor handles, for example the handles of standard doors. Choosing anangle included between 16° and 45° (FIG. 90 it is possible to set aholding force (threshold) between the two components 10 and 20, so thatonce said predetermined force threshold (a function of the selectedangle) has been exceeded, the system opens even if no action is exertedon the release lever. With such angles, in fact, a sliding or frictionalmovement of the piece is obtained and thus the system operates as aconnector or block with a predefined load. These angles are thusparticularly suitable for the application of the system according to thepresent invention to doors or door/window panels, in particular thosewhich need a predetermined thrust in order to be opened. The selectionof the angle (and thus of the force that maintains the rotatable andtranslatable element pushed) thus depends on the type of constraint tobe obtained between the two components 10 and 20.

Obviously, the angle values mentioned above with reference to Figuresfrom 9 d to 9 f can be applied to all the embodiments of the presentinvention described in the present patent application, as well as to allthe variants of the same that appear obvious to any expert in the art.

Here below, further embodiments of the present invention and/orcomponent parts of the same are described with reference to Figures from10 a and 10 b to 18, in which, once again, component parts and/orcharacteristics of the system according to the present invention alreadydescribed above with reference to other figures are identified by thesame reference numbers.

The special feature of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 10a and 10blies in the shape of the portion 21. In fact, it can be inferred fromthe figures that in this case the portion 21 is characterized in that itcomprises a convex upper surface (the one in contact with the rotatableand/or translatable element 24), that is, defined by a lowered portionof said upper surface. In particular, the convex upper surface isdefined by two flat and adjacent surfaces P1 and P2 that converge in acommon vertex and are inclined by a predefined angle with respect to ahorizontal reference surface (the same angle or even two differentangles). Furthermore, the depth of the lowered portion varies along thelength of the portion 21, in particular it decreases towards the end ofthe portion 21 that faces (in the complete system) towards the firstcomponent 10. Therefore, when the end 12 of the component 10 translatestowards the outside of the second component 20 as described withreference to other embodiments, the rotatable and translatable element24 is moved (thanks to the friction between the end 12 of the firstcomponent 10, the element 24 and the convex upper surface of the portion21) towards the outside of the second component 20, too (from bottom totop in FIG. 10b ) and thus “ascending” along the convex surface, untilstopping along its path, thus preventing any further translation of theend 12 of the first component 10, so that the first component 10 cannotbe extracted from the second component 20.

A further variant embodiment of this solution is illustrated in FIGS.11a and 11b and differs from the solution just described with referenceto FIGS. 10a and 10b in that in this solution it is not the depth of thelowered portion of the upper surface of the portion 21 that varies overthe length of the portion 21 but rather the mutual distance (in thehorizontal direction in FIGS. 11a and 11b ) between the adjacent andopposing inclined surfaces P1 and P2; in particular, the distancebetween said surfaces P1 and P2 decreases towards the external end ofthe second component 20 and thus in the direction of extraction of thefirst component 10 from the second component 20. The counteractingelement 24, when pulled by the end portion 12 of the first component 10towards the outside of the second component 20 (from bottom to top inFIG. 11b ) is pushed increasingly upwards (against the end 12 of thecomponent 10) and thus increases the opposing action between the end 12of the component 10, the element 24 and the portion 21, until causingthe mutual locking of said three component parts, thus preventing anyfurther translation of the first component 10 towards the outside of thesecond component 20 (mutual locking of the first component 10 and secondcomponent 20).

It is obvious that the portions 21 according to the two solutions justdescribed above, respectively with reference to FIGS. 10a, 10b and 11a,11b , can be used as an alternative to the inclined portions 21 of theembodiments previously described, as well as of the further embodimentsthat are described below. It is also obvious that the two solutions justdescribed can be used also in combination with the inclined portion 21of both the previous embodiments and those described below; in thiscase, the portion 21 is both inclined and provided with an upper surfacewith a convex lowered portion having variable depth and/or width.

The special feature of the further embodiment of the inventionillustrated in Figures from 12 a to 12 c (which show the systemrespectively open, locked and released) is represented, instead, by theshape and operation of the release element 27. In this case, in fact,said release element 27 is L-shaped and has a first end portionpositioned at the level of the seat 26 (so that it can be housed atleast partially inside said seat 26 during the movement of the element27 itself) and a second portion that extends from said first endportion.

An elastic counteracting element (for example, a helical spring) 71 actson said second portion of the release element 27 so as to maintain it ina rest position (shown in FIG. 12a ), in which the release element ismaintained at a given distance from the second component 20, with thefirst end portion of the release element 27 far from (and not in contactwith) the rotatable and translatable element 24. The elastic element 71thus exerts a thrusting action from right to left in the figures. Therelease of the system is thus obtained by exerting a thrusting action onthe element 27, opposing the thrusting action exerted by the element 71(from left to right in the figures). In this way, the first end portionof the release element 27 strikes against the rotatable and translatableelement 24, thus thrusting it towards the inside of the component 20opposing the action of the spring 23, and thus towards that portion ofthe internal space 26 in which the translatable element has more “slack”and is thus substantially “loose” between the end 12 of the component 10and the portion 21, be it inclined and/or provided with an upper surfacewith a convex and/or tapered lowered portion. In this way, the endportion 12 of the first component 10 can be extracted from the secondcomponent 20 (translated from right to left in the figures) as in thecase of the other embodiments. It should also be added that the elasticelement 71 is fitted on and kept in position by an element or pin 70(with variable cross section depending on the needs and/orcircumstances) that can be translated inside a corresponding housingseat obtained in the component 20.

The further embodiment shown in Figures from 13 a to 13 c is quitesimilar to the one just described with reference to Figures from 12 a to12 c but differs from it (and from those described above and below) inthat, in this further embodiment, the elastic element or spring 23 isreplaced by a magnet 72.

Said magnet 72 comprises in particular two portions having the samepolarity (positive as indicated in the figures, or negative, dependingon the cases), of which a first portion is firmly fixed to thetranslatable element 24, while a second portion is firmly fixed to thesecond component 20. The magnetic force generated between the twoportions will thus tend to push towards the outside of the component 20(from right to left in the figures) the portion of the magnet 72 that isfirmly fixed to the element 24, and thus the same element 24 in the samedirection towards the outside of the component 20. Therefore, when athrusting action is exerted on the release element 27 in such a way asto move its first end portion until it strikes against the rotatable andtranslatable element, said thrusting action is exerted against theaction of the magnetic force instead of against the action of an elasticelement as in the embodiments described above.

In the further embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 14a and 14b , whichrespectively show, as in the previous cases, the conditions of thesystem according to the present invention in which the two components 10and 20 are respectively released from each other, constrained to eachother and suited to be released from each other, the release element 27is characterized in that its first end portion 27 m (the one intended torest against the rotatable and translatable element 24) is made of amaterial (for example, a metal alloy) of the so-called “memory form”type, that is, such a material that the volume of said first end portion27 m varies depending on whether said end portion is placed undervoltage or not. In the figures, in fact, it is possible to observe theschematic representation of two electric wires by means of which thefirst end portion 27 m of the element 27 can be electrically powered.Owing to the power supply, the first end portion 27 m of the element 27is placed under voltage and thus its volume increases so that the samecomes into contact with the rotatable and translatable element 24,thrusting it towards the inside of the component 20, so that it ispossible to extract the component 10 from the component 20. On thecontrary, if the power supply is eliminated, said first end portion 27 mof the release element 27 returns to its initial or rest volume, andtherefore it does not exert a thrusting action any longer on therotatable and translatable element that, if driven towards the outsideof the component 20 by the component 10 (by its end portion 12), islocked between the end 12 and the portion 21, thus preventing the mutualrelease of the two components 10 and 20.

The further embodiment according to the present invention shown inFigures from 15 a to 15 c is similar to the one just described; thedifference between the two embodiments lies in that the release element27 (its second portion that extends from the first end portion) isconstrained to the component 20 through a constraint element 27 mi, aswell as in that, in this case, it is said constraint element 27 mi thatis made of a memory form material. Therefore, alternatively supplyingand taking voltage to/from the constraint element 27 mi (through theelectric wires 27 c) alternatively increases the volume of theconstraint element and returns the latter to the “rest” volume, so thatthe release element 27 is alternatively removed from and moved near thecomponent 20, and the rotatable and translatable element 24 isalternatively pushed towards the inside of the component 20 (from leftto right in the figures) and released from the first end portion of therelease element 27.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 16 the special feature is represented bythe shape of the component 10 that is characterized by such alongitudinal section that its thickness (or at least the thickness ofits end portion 12 intended to be inserted in the component 20) variesalong its length, in particular increases towards said end 12. Thissolution, suited to be adopted in each one of the other embodiments, inparticular independently of the shape and/or inclined or not inclinedorientation of the portion 21, makes it possible to increase thefriction between the end portion 12 and the rotatable and translatableelement 24, in particular the mutual opposition between the end 12 ofthe component 10, the element 24 and the portion 21 during thetranslation of the component 10 towards the outside of the component 20(obviously, with the release element deactivated and thus, for example,in the position shown in FIG. 15a ), thus making the mutual constraintbetween the two components 10 and 20 safer and more reliable. It shouldbe specified, furthermore, that the cross section of the component 10(or at least of its end portion 12) may vary depending on the needsand/or circumstances and may be, for example, in the shape of arectangle or even hexagon etc.

In the further embodiments shown respectively in FIGS. 17a, 17b, 17c and17d , the seat 25 assumes different shapes. For example, in theembodiment of FIG. 17a the seat 25 is a through seat, meaning that it issuch as to place in communication the side of the component 20 facingtowards the component 10 with its opposite side. In this case, the innerdimensions of the seat 25 can be both constant (as in the case of FIG.17a ) and variable (as in the case of FIG. 17d ), meaning that the innerdimensions of the seat 25 increase towards the side of the component 20opposite the one facing towards the component 10. Furthermore (as in thecases shown in FIGS. 17b and 17c ), the seat 25 can be blind and also inthese cases its internal dimensions can be both variable and constant.

FIG. 18 finally shows a special embodiment of the system according tothe present invention, in which both the rotatable and translatableelement 24 (shown in the figure between the portion 21 and the component10) and the portion 21 assume special shapes. The element 24 shown inFIG. 18 is in fact substantially cylindrical (defined by a substantiallycylindrical main external surface) but it comprises two circumferentialgrooves 24 g (extending along the entire circumference), each defined bya convex surface. The portion 21 in turn comprises two correspondingprojections (with cross section in the shape of a pyramid or truncatedpyramid) that extend from the upper surface of the portion 21 in contactwith the element 24. The projections extend in the direction of thelength of the portion 21 (at right angles to the plane of FIG. 18) andthus each of them is engaged in a corresponding groove 24 g.Furthermore, the height of the projections 21 s may vary along theirlength (and thus along a direction that is perpendicular to the plane ofFIG. 18) and the portion 21 can be inclined or not. The function of theprojections 21 s is thus to increase the opposing action between theelement 24 and the portion 21, in a way that is very similar to the caseof the lowered portions of the portion 21 according to the embodimentdescribed above with reference to FIGS. 10a, 10b and 11a, 11b . Thisembodiment makes it possible to increase the contact surface between theelement 24 and the portion 21, thus making the mutual constraint betweenthe component 10 and the component 20 of the system safer and morereliable (with deactivated release element).

Certain preferred embodiments of this invention may be summarized asfollows:

-   -   1. Quick connecting and/or fastening system suited to mutually        connect and disconnect a first and a second element (100, 200),        said system comprising a first and a second component (10, 20)        suited to be rigidly fixed to said first and second element        (100, 200), respectively, said first and said second component        (10, 20) being furthermore suited to be mutually connected and        disconnected so as to allow said first and second element (100,        200) to be alternatively connected and disconnected to/from each        other, said second component (20) being suited to accommodate an        end portion (12) of said first component (10) so as to allow the        translation of same inside said second component, said second        component (20) comprising furthermore counteracting means suited        to counteract the translation of said end portion (12) of said        first component (10) towards the outside of said second        component (20), said system further comprising a rotatable        element (24) that is housed inside said second component (20)        and suited to be set rotating in a first rotation direction        following the translation of the end portion (12) of the first        component (10) towards the inside of the second component (20),        and suited to be set rotating in a second rotation direction        contrary to the first rotation direction following the        translation of the end portion (12) of the first component (10)        towards the outside of the second component (20), said        counteracting means being suited to counteract the rotation of        said rotatable element (24) in said second rotation direction,        said system being characterized in that said second component        (20) comprises release means (27, 28, 40, 44) that during their        motion along a first predetermined direction they come into        contact with said rotatable element (24) so as to move said        rotatable element (24) towards the inside of said second        component (20) and therefore so as to cause the decrease of the        counteracting force between said rotatable element (24), said        end portion (12) and said counteracting means.    -   2. System according to paragraph 1, characterized in that said        second component (20) comprises a rigid portion that together        with said end portion (12) of said first component (10) defines        an internal space, in that said rotatable element (24) is housed        in said space, and in that said end portion (12) of said first        component (10), said rigid portion and said rotatable element        (24) are mutually arranged and shaped so that said counteracting        force is generated due to the mutual action of said rigid        portion and said end portion (12) on said rotatable element        (24).    -   3. System according to paragraph 1 or 2, characterized in that        said end portion, said rigid portion and said rotatable element        (24) are mutually arranged and shaped so that said counteracting        force contrary to the translation of said end portion towards        the outside of said second component (20) and to the rotation of        said rotatable element (24) in said second rotation direction        increases during the translation of said end portion towards the        outside of said second component (20) while it decreases during        the translation of said end portion (12) towards the inside of        said second component (20).    -   4. System according to paragraph 3, characterized in that said        end portion, said rigid portion (21) and said rotatable element        (24) are mutually arranged and shaped so that said counteracting        force contrary to the translation of said end portion (12)        towards the outside of said second component (20) and to the        rotation of said rotatable element (24) in said second rotation        direction increases during the translation of said end portion        towards the outside of said second component (20) to the extent        that it prevents any further translation of said end portion        towards the outside of said second component (20) and any        further rotation of said rotatable element (24) in said second        rotation direction and therefore until causing the mutual        locking of said end portion and said rotatable element (24) in a        predetermined mutual position.    -   5. System according to any of paragraphs 1 to 4, characterized        in that said rigid portion (21) of said second component (20) is        oriented with respect to said first component (10) and/or shaped        so that said rotatable element (24) is pushed towards said end        portion (12) of said first component (10) during the rotation of        said rotatable element (24) in said first rotation direction.    -   6. System according to paragraph 5, characterized in that the        mutual distance between the contact point of said rotatable        element (24) with said rigid portion (21) and said end portion        of said second component (20) increases along the direction of        translation of said end portion (12) towards the inside of said        second component (20) while said mutual distance decreases along        the direction of translation of said end portion (12) towards        the outside of said second component (20).    -   7. System according to paragraph 6, characterized in that said        rotatable element (24) is in contact with both said end portion        (12) and said rigid portion (21) so that the translation of said        end portion (12) towards the inside of said second component        (20) is transformed into an at least partial translation of said        rotatable element (24) towards the inside of said second        component (20) while a translation of said end portion (12)        towards the outside of said second component (20) is transformed        into an at least partial translation of said rotatable element        (24) towards the outside of said second component (20).    -   8. System according to any of the paragraphs 1 to 7,        characterized in that first thrusting means are housed inside        said second component (20) and exert a thrusting action on said        rotatable element (24) towards the internal space defined by        said end portion (12) and said rigid portion (21).    -   9. System according to paragraph 8, characterized in that said        first thrusting means comprise elastic means (23).    -   10. System according to paragraph 8, characterized in that said        first thrusting means comprise magnetic and/or electromagnetic        means (72 a, 72 b).    -   11. System according to any of paragraphs 1 to 10, characterized        in that said second component (20) comprises second thrusting        means that exert a thrusting action against said release means        along a second direction contrary to said first direction of        motion of said release means.    -   12. System according to paragraph 11, characterized in that said        second thrusting means comprise elastic means (71).    -   13. System according to paragraph 11, characterized in that said        second thrusting means comprise electromagnetic means (60).    -   14. System according to any of paragraphs 1 to 13, characterized        in that said second component (20) comprises actuator means        coupled with said release means which allow said release means        to be moved along said first predetermined direction and        therefore against the thrusting action exerted by said second        thrusting means.    -   15. System according to paragraph 14, characterized in that said        actuator means comprise electromagnetic means (60).    -   16. System according to paragraph 14, characterized in that said        actuator means comprise at least one portion made of a memory        form material.

It is important to note that the present invention is not limited to theembodiments described above and illustrated in the figures. On thecontrary, all the variants and the changes to the embodiments describedand illustrated herein that are clear for the persons skilled in the artfall within the scope of the present invention. The objects and thescope of the present invention are defined in the claims expressedbelow.

I claim:
 1. A system comprising a first component (10) having a firstend and a second end distal from the first end; a second component (20)having a first seat and a second seat transverse to the first seat; anda release component (Pi) slideably engaged with the second seat, whereinthe first component is slideably engaged with the first seat and extendsbeyond the second component; the second component (20) furthercomprises: (a) an inner space (26) in communication with the first seatand the second seat, (b) a rotatable element (24) located in the innerspace (26) having a size which is capable of engaging in translatablerotatable contact with the second end of the first component (10) andthe release component (Pi), (c) a first compressible spring (23) havinga first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the firstcompressible spring (23) is engaged with the second component (20) andthe second end of the first compressible spring is engaged with therotatable element (24) for applying pressure against the rotatableelement (24) in a translation direction toward the second end of thefirst component, and (d) a second compressible spring (E) engaged withthe second end of the first component (10) and the second component (20)for applying outward pressure between the first component (10) and thesecond component (20), and the release component (Pi) further comprisesa groove comprising an inclined and/or tapered surface (21) facing therotatable element (24) flanked by a first counteracting surface (Sc1)and/or a second counteracting surface (Sc2), wherein (a) the inclinedand/or tapered surface (21) has a gap between the inclined and/ortapered surface and the second end of the first component, wherein thegap gradually decreases from a maximum gap to a minimum gap in adirection from the first end of the first component (10) to the secondend of the first component (10), wherein the maximum gap is greater thanthe size of the rotatable element (24) and the minimum gap is less thanthe size of the rotatable element (24), and (b) the first counteractingsurface (Sc1) and/or second counteracting surface (Sc2) face(s) theinner space (26) and the rotatable element (24) at an oblique anglerelative to the translation direction, wherein the first counteractingsurface (Sc1) and/or second counteracting surface (Sc2) is/are capableof applying a force on the rotatable element (24) to compress the firstcompressible spring for releasing the first component (10) when therelease component (Pi) is displaced within the seat from a firstposition to a second position.
 2. The system according to claim 1,wherein both the first counteracting surface (Sc1) and the secondcounteracting surface (Sc2) are present in the release component (Pi).3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the release component (Pi)comprises a knob for displacing the release component (Pi) relative tothe second component (20).
 4. The system according to claim 2, whereinthe release component (Pi) comprises a knob for displacing the releasecomponent (Pi) relative to the second component (20), whereindisplacement of the knob either toward or away from the second component(20) is capable of releasing the first component (10).
 5. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the first end of the first component (10)extends beyond the second component (20).
 6. The system according toclaim 5, wherein the system further comprises a latch (St), wherein thelatch (St) is capable of engaging with the first end of the firstcomponent (10).